Irish Americans shocked, outraged at Irish child abuse report

'The collar shouldn't save them from prosecution'

'Unconsionable behavior'

“We had heard from a few journalists and from a number of graduates of these schools about the horrible treatment that the kids received from those who were paid to care for them the past number of years,” he said.

O’Shea, from Kenmare, County Kerry, attended both primary and secondary school in Kerry, and said the victims’ stories of frequent flogging, of starvation and perverted sexual abuse, perpetrated against the most vulnerable children in Irish society, “shocked and enraged” him.

“As an educator who worked in high schools in Dublin and New York for 40 years, I find it completely unconscionable that boys and girls, who had nobody to speak for them, nobody even to listen or to comfort them, nobody in their corner, should have been subjected to daily terror by bullies, acting in the name of Christ,” said O’Shea.

The Ryan report, said O’Shea, makes it clear that the years of abuse reports were not the result of a “few bad apples.”

“No, the reign of terror took place up and down the country, over a period of more than 50 years, and involved no less than 18 religious orders of men and women,” he said.

Angered by the tortures and abuse that were administered at the hands of those who claimed to be holy, O’Shea questions, “How could men and women, trained in Catholic spirituality, attend Mass every day and walk around with breviaries and rosary beads, while terrorizing the children in their care?”

Compensation

O’Shea feels monetary restitution is a must for all victims. “Payments to all those who suffered should be substantial and should come equally from the religious orders and the government,” he said.

And, moreover, he feels it’s necessary to make the abusers available so victims can face their torturers if they desire to do so. 

“Where possible, those who were terrorized and abused should be allowed to confront their tormentors,” he said.

Micheal Corridan, 36, from County Dublin, said he was surprised at “the extent of these crimes.”

“Growing up in Catholic Ireland, we were taught that our religion was our savior. Guiding us safe through life,” said Corridan.

“Even the teachers who were members of religious orders were given higher respect than lay teachers. To hear that these so-called religious people would commit such a crime was hard to comprehend and even harder to understand after the extent of the crimes came out.”

Prosecution

Like many others, Corridan feels that those responsible for the abuse documented in the Ryan report should face the law like everyone else who commits a crime.

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Nster.com